Worth Fighting For
by MasterFirebender84
Summary: Oneshot. Based on Sam's speech in Two Towers from LOTR. At the Western Air Temple, Aang is feeling depressed because of the failed Invasion. Katara needs to remind him of what they are fighting for, and that they need to carry on in this never-ending war


Hey ya'll. :P I decided to do this little oneshot just for fun, sort of combining two of my favorite things: Avatar The Last Airbender and Lord of the Rings. :) I hope you enjoy this oneshot, so read and review please! :D

****DISCLAIMER:** **I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. The show and its characters belong to Mike and Bryan, the brillant geniuses behind one of the greatest cartoon shows in the history of cartoons. Their work is legendary, and I salute them for it. I also do not own Lord of the Rings.

**Worth Fighting For**

The young Avatar sat on the edge of the fountain plaza of the Western Air Temple, his feet dangling off the edge and pointing towards the fog-covered canyon floor below. His friends were all asleep inside the temple, including the newest member of their team…Zuko, the scarred Fire Nation Prince. He had joined their team earlier that day, offering his services as Aang's Firebending teacher as well as lending his help in ending The War. Everyone seemed to have accepted him into the group, albeit a begrudged compliance from Katara. Aang knew she didn't trust Zuko, but she was willing to go along with what he thought was best for ending The War.

The black blanket of the night covered the sky, the stars shining high above the earth. The crisp night air circulated all around Aang, slightly fluttering his new outfit. He looked down at the canyon floor far below, his eyebrows scrunched in frustration and a scowl on his face. Days before, he and his friends had lead an Invasion of the Fire Nation. It all had been going according to plan, and they were even winning…until Aang discovered that Fire Lord Ozai was missing. It had all been a trap, for the Fire Nation knew they had been coming. Their victory had been assured until the airships appeared, raining destruction down on the submarines, their only means of escape. Victory had been theirs, but it was all for naught…they had failed, and the war still raged on.

"Aang?" called out a soft voice from behind him. He turned around to see Katara walking towards him, a worried look on her tan face. His face softens as he looks at her, and he is suddenly reminded of their kiss before the Invasion. He had finally summoned up the courage to show her how he felt about her, but their failure had in some way ruined that first kiss for him. She stopped about four feet from him, and her right hand reached over to hold her left elbow.

"Hi, Katara," said Aang softly. He thinks of how beautiful she looks in the soft moonlight, how the lunar rays make her olive skin glow a healthy light. Her long, dark brown hair flutters in the slight breeze, and her eyes…if he stared at them long enough, he could lose himself in their blue wonder. He loved everything about her, and he had shown her his love for her through that one kiss…the kiss that changed everything.

"Are you all right?" she asked, her gentle voice music to his ears. He could listen to her talk all day just to hear her beautiful voice. But not even Katara can prevent him from remembering their failure at the Invasion, and his frustration and anger at himself returns to his young heart.

He turned around to look down at the canyon floor and angrily muttered, "No, I'm not." He knows he can't lie to Katara, the one person who meant everything to him, even if she didn't show that she felt the same about him. Not only did he fail his friends at the Invasion, but he failed himself. He had shown Katara his true feelings for her, and she still has yet to show even the slightest hint of romantic affection towards him. Nothing had changed between them, not even after that kiss.

Katara knew Aang was angry at something, but whether it was at her or himself she didn't know. She thought about how Aang had kissed her before the Invasion, the memory of her first kiss still playing over and over again in her mind. She remembered his lips against her, how soft his young lips had felt when he kissed her. She had been surprised at first, but soon she had felt herself returning the kiss. Katara's feelings were all jumbled up at the moment, not exactly sure of how she felt about the young Avatar. _He's my best friend…_ she thought to herself as she held her arm. _And he kissed me…maybe I should talk to him about it._ She immediately shakes this though from her head. _No no Katara. That's not what Aang needs right now…and you don't need that right now either. Your best friend is depressed and angry about something, but it's not you. Just show him that you're here for him as a friend…just a friend…just in this moment._ Her mind is a swirling storm of confused feelings, wanting to comfort her best friend and yet awkward around the same best friend who had kissed her just days before.

"Do you mind if I sit next to you?" she asked, still wary of the upset Avatar. She wanted to do whatever she could to help Aang, despite what had happened between them at the Invasion.

"No," he simply replied, still staring at the canyon floor below. Katara's hand dropped from her elbow as she walked over to Aang, sitting down next to him and letting her feet dangle over the edge. She looked at his face with worried eyes, but he refused to look at her. She could see the anger on his young face, and it pained her to see her best friend going through these negative emotions.

"You're thinking about the Invasion, aren't you?" she asked. She remembered how close to victory they had been until Aang told them that Fire Lord Ozai had fled. Many of the troops had been captured after the submarines were destroyed, including her father Hakoda. She hoped that her father was alive and safe, and she wished that she could free him right now. But her place was with Aang, not her father. Hakoda would survive this war, and one day she would be reunited with him again.

"That's the only thing I can think of," angrily said Aang. "We had a chance to finally end this war, and we failed!" He clenched his fists as he said, "It's all my fault."

"Aang, don't say that," said Katara, trying to calm down her friend.

He snapped his head toward her and angrily shouted, "It is, Katara! Don't you get it?" She jumped as he snapped at her, and his face instantly softened as he saw the hurt in her eyes. Regret filled his soul as he looked back down at the canyon floor and said, "Ever since Ba Sing Se, things have been going from bad to worse. The day we invaded the Fire Nation, we had a chance to finally end this war…and we failed." He buried his face in his hands as he miserably said, "Nothing's changed…the world is still at war…and I don't even know what we're fighting for anymore…"

A sad look came over Katara's face as she looked at her depressed friend, her heart aching with concern for Aang. She still cared a lot about him that she wanted to see him happy again, to see the bright and goofy side of him burst forth like the dawn after a long night. She looked up and saw the moon, waning in its lunar brilliance and shape. A sudden sensation took hold of her at that moment, a determination and resilience unlike any she had felt in her whole life.

"It's like in the great stories, Aang," she said softly, letting her soothing voice wash over the Avatar like a calming wave. "The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end…because how could the end be happy?" Aang uncovered his face as she spoke, looking up at her with hopeful eyes. "How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?" she continued, the sensation of hope filling her soul completely. She gave a soft smile to the moon and said, "But in the end, it's only a passing thing…this shadow. Even darkness must pass." Confidence filled her voice as she said, "A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer." Softness entered her voice as she said, "Those were the stories that stayed with you…that meant something, even if you were too small to understand why."

Tears filled her eyes as she said, "But I think, Aang, I do understand. I know now." She wiped away the glistening water droplets as she said, "People in those stories…had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't." She put her hands on her lap and said, "They kept going…because they were holding on to something."

She paused briefly, and Aang asked her, "What are we holding on to, Katara?" There was something about the way she spoke, as if she were filling him with unbelievable hope. He had lost sight of what they were fighting for ever since the failed Invasion, and now Katara was helping to bring him back from the dark abyss of depression and hopelessness. She looked over at him, determination and hopefulness filling her eyes like a vast sea. They stared at each other for a while, neither one moving as they calmly breathed.

Finally, Katara confidently said, "That there's some good in this world, Aang…and it's worth fighting for." She stared at him with such confidence that Aang couldn't help but be inspired by his Waterbending best friend. A light broke through Aang's dark mind, filling him with the hope for a better future…a future that's worth fighting for.

He smiled as he said, "Thanks, Katara." He paused and added, "I really needed that." Katara smiled and nodded at him, getting up to walk back to her bedroom. He turned back to face the canyon floor, waiting a few seconds before turning around and saying, "Katara." His friend stopped and turned around, and he said, "I mean it…thank you."

She smiled and said, "You're my best friend, Aang. I'd do anything for you, and not just because you're the Avatar…but because I care about you as a friend." Aang's heart twinges slightly in pain as she said this, but he still smiled and nodded at her. He turned around to look down at the canyon floor again, listening as Katara's footsteps got fainter and fainter.

_I know what we're fighting for now_, Aang thought to himself as the moonlight enveloped him. _We're fighting for peace…for the hope of a better world…no, we _are _fighting for a better world…but I know what's worth fighting for_. He smiled to himself as he thought, _Katara's worth fighting for._


End file.
